So far, in our preparation for All Saints Day (Nov. 1) we have looked at a Capuchin, a Carmelite, a mother, and today...a lawyer!
St. Thomas More was born at London in 1478. After a thorough grounding in religion and the classics, he entered Oxford to study law. Upon leaving the university he embarked on a legal career which took him to Parliament. In 1505, he married his beloved Jane Colt who bore him four children, and when she died at a young age, he married a widow, Alice Middleton, to be a mother for his young children. A wit and a reformer, this learned man numbered Bishops and scholars among his friends, and by 1516 wrote his world-famous book "Utopia". He attracted the attention of Henry VIII who appointed him to a succession of high posts and missions, and finally made him Lord Chancellor in 1529. However, he resigned in 1532, at the height of his career and reputation, when Henry persisted in holding his own opinions regarding marriage and the supremacy of the Pope. The rest of his life was spent in writing mostly in defense of the Church. In 1534, with his close friend, St. John Fisher, he refused to render allegiance to the King as the Head of the Church of England and was confined to the Tower. Fifteen months later, and nine days after St. John Fisher's execution, he was tried and convicted of treason. He told the court that he could not go against his conscience and wished his judges that "we may yet hereafter in heaven merrily all meet together to everlasting salvation." And on the scaffold, he told the crowd of spectators that he was dying as "the King's good servant-but God's first." He was beheaded on July 6, 1535. http://www.catholic.org/
Scripture for meditation: 1 Corinthians 2:12-15
The spirit we have received is not the world's spirit but God's spirit, helping us to recognize the gifts He has given us. We speak of these, not in words of human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, thus interpreting spiritual things in spiritual terms. The natural man does not accept what is taught by the Spirit of God. For him, that is absurdity. He cannot come to know such teaching because it must be appraised in a spiritual way. The spiritual man, on the other hand, can appraise everything, though he himself can be appraised by no one.
Scripture for reflection: Matthew 14: 25, 28-31
At about three in the morning, He came walking toward them on the lake. Peter spoke up and said, "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you across the water." "Come," He said. So Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, moving toward Jesus. but when he perceived how strong the wind was, becoming frightened, he began to sink and cried out, "Lord, save me!' Jesus at once stretched out His hand and caught him. "How little faith you have!" He exclaimed. "Why did you faulter?"
St. Thomas More tells us: I will not mistrust God...though I feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember how Saint Peter, at a blast of wind, began to sink..., and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to Him for help. And then I trust He shall place His holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning. Spiritual Advice from The Saints, Pauline Books
Prayer: Written by St. Thomas More while imprisoned in the Tower of London
Give me the grace, Good Lord: To set the world at naught. To set the mind firmly on You and not to hang upon the words of men's mouths. To be content to be solitary. Not to long for worldly pleasures. Little by little utterly to cast off the world and rid my mind of all its business. Not to long to hear of earthly things, but that the hearing of worldly fancies may be displeasing to me. Gladly to be thinking of God, piteously to call for His help. To lean into the comfort of God. Busily to labor to love Him. To know my own vileness and wretchedness. To humble myself under the mighty hand of God. To bewail my sins and, for the purging of them, patiently to suffer adversity. Gladly to bear my purgatory here. To be joyful in tribulations. To walk the narrow way that leads to life. To have the last thing in remembrance. To have ever before my eyes my death that is ever at hand. To make death no stranger to me. To foresee and consider the everlasting fire of Hell. To pray for pardon before the judge comes. To have continually in mind the passion that Christ suffered for me. For His benefits unceasingly to give Him thanks. To buy the time again that I have lost. To abstain from vain conversations. To shun foolish mirth and gladness. To cut off unnecessary recreations. Of worldly substance, friends, liberty, life and all, to set the loss at naught, for the winning of Christ. To think my worst enemies my best friends, for the brethren of Joseph could never have done him so much good with their love and favor as they did him with their malice and hatred. These minds are more to be desired of every man than all the treasures of all the princes and kings, Christian and heathen, were it gathered and laid together all in one heap. Amen.
My thoughts: We have no better role model in the face of adversity than St. Thomas More. He had what all men desire, and he gave it up to hold fast to his beliefs. He suffered great mental and emotional torment while locked in the Tower of London, yet he never failed to reach for God's hand when he started to sink. Knowing he was misunderstood by everyone, even his own family, he stayed in the truth of the Spirit. An absurdity to man? Yes, he was. God's faithful servant to the end? Yes, indeed. May the same be said for us.
St. Thomas More, patron saint of lawyers, pray for us.
St. Thomas More's feast day is June 22.
Recommended reading:The Four Last Things: A Dialogue on Conscience by Thomas More.
The Sadness of Christ by Thomas More
Give me the grace, Good Lord: To set the world at naught. To set the mind firmly on You and not to hang upon the words of men's mouths. To be content to be solitary. Not to long for worldly pleasures. Little by little utterly to cast off the world and rid my mind of all its business. Not to long to hear of earthly things, but that the hearing of worldly fancies may be displeasing to me. Gladly to be thinking of God, piteously to call for His help. To lean into the comfort of God. Busily to labor to love Him. To know my own vileness and wretchedness. To humble myself under the mighty hand of God. To bewail my sins and, for the purging of them, patiently to suffer adversity. Gladly to bear my purgatory here. To be joyful in tribulations. To walk the narrow way that leads to life. To have the last thing in remembrance. To have ever before my eyes my death that is ever at hand. To make death no stranger to me. To foresee and consider the everlasting fire of Hell. To pray for pardon before the judge comes. To have continually in mind the passion that Christ suffered for me. For His benefits unceasingly to give Him thanks. To buy the time again that I have lost. To abstain from vain conversations. To shun foolish mirth and gladness. To cut off unnecessary recreations. Of worldly substance, friends, liberty, life and all, to set the loss at naught, for the winning of Christ. To think my worst enemies my best friends, for the brethren of Joseph could never have done him so much good with their love and favor as they did him with their malice and hatred. These minds are more to be desired of every man than all the treasures of all the princes and kings, Christian and heathen, were it gathered and laid together all in one heap. Amen.
My thoughts: We have no better role model in the face of adversity than St. Thomas More. He had what all men desire, and he gave it up to hold fast to his beliefs. He suffered great mental and emotional torment while locked in the Tower of London, yet he never failed to reach for God's hand when he started to sink. Knowing he was misunderstood by everyone, even his own family, he stayed in the truth of the Spirit. An absurdity to man? Yes, he was. God's faithful servant to the end? Yes, indeed. May the same be said for us.
St. Thomas More, patron saint of lawyers, pray for us.
St. Thomas More's feast day is June 22.
Recommended reading:The Four Last Things: A Dialogue on Conscience by Thomas More.
The Sadness of Christ by Thomas More
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